MortarBoardCUsmallCaptioned CU 2015 Summer School, Part 3 Weekend Panic Rumours Fly CU does not re-post every press release it receives. This "Summer School" is framed around the three December SACP press releases that we did not re-post on receipt. There were others that were received but not posted. Here is a time line of the Finance Ministry affair: Wednesday, 9 December 2015, 20h04: President's press release announcing Nene's replacement as Finance Minister with van Rooyen. SACP issues short message. Friday, 11 December: President issues longer message. SACP issues longer message. Saturday, 12 December: Presidency Corrects Malicious Rumours (attached) Sunday, 13 December: President's press release announcing van Rooyen's replacement as Finance Minister with Gordhan. Monday, 14 December: ANC NWC endorses the new position. SACP also endorses. Tuesday, 15 December: Messages of support for government from NEHAWU and others Wednesday, 16 December (public holiday): White-dominated anti-Zuma marches. Thursday, 17 December: SACP denounces the reactionary mobilisations. The attached message, also reproduced below, was a response to rumours that were flying by the weekend following the Wednesday announcement. As such it was not important to the CU at the time, and so was not re-posted. Here it can serve to show the atmosphere that had been created by the weekend, following the appointment of van Rooyen as Finance Minister. VC The Presidency, Pretoria, Media Statement, 12 December 2015 Presidency Corrects Malicious Rumours around SAA, National Treasury and Ministerial Deployments The Presidency wishes to correct malicious rumours that have been circulating and which have been published by some media houses in relation to Ministerial deployments and the South African Airways Board chairperson Ms Dudu Myeni. RUMOUR: MINISTER GIGABA DID NOT FINISH HIS TERM AS MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES AT THE REQUEST OF THE SAA BOARD CHAIR A rumour has been circulated, and has also been published by some media products, that Mr Malusi Gigaba, now Minister of Home Affairs, was "removed'' from his position a Minister of Public Enterprises due to an apparent fallout with Ms Myeni, and at her request to the President. This is not true. Mr Gigaba served his full term as Minister of Public Enterprises until the elections in May 2014. All terms of office automatically lapse after elections. A newly-elected President appoints a brand new Cabinet immediately after being sworn in. The new President is under no obligation to re-appoint persons who had served before and there is also no requirement that he should re-appoint people to portfolios they had held before, should he or she decide to include them in his or her new Cabinet. In line with this principle, Mr Gigaba was appointed as Minister of Home Affairs in the fifth administration. RUMOUR: SAA WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE NATIONAL TREASURY BECAUSE THE SAA BOARD CHAIR DEMANDED THAT IT BE SO Another rumour that has been doing the rounds and has been published as well by some media houses has it that the SAA was shifted from the Department of Public Enterprises to the National Treasury because of a clash between Ms Myeni and the Minister of Public Enterprises, Ms Lynne Brown and that this was at the request or demand by Ms Myeni. This is grossly untrue. The SAA was moved to the National Treasury so that it can be intensively supported to get out of difficulties by the NT. That was the sole motivation. As said by the President on 11 December, there is no state-owned entity that can dictate to government how it should be assisted. In addition, no chairperson of a board of a state owned company has the power to tell a government Department to which the entity reports, how to support or lead them. The President and government will be guided by the National Treasury on the response to the SAA challenges. Once the National Treasury advises that the SAA is on a better footing, it will be returned to the Department of Public Enterprises where it belongs. RUMOUR: MR NENE WAS REDEPLOYED BECAUSE OF THE AIRBUS DEAL AND MS MYENI'S DISPLEASURE Media reports that Mr Nhlanhla Nene is being redeployed because the SAA Board chairperson was unhappy with the National Treasury directives to SAA with regards to the Airbus deal or any other matter is a malicious fabrication. Mr Nene as has been explained, is South Africa's candidate to head up the African Regional Centre of the New Development Bank/BRICS Bank. The SAA receives directives from the Minister of Finance and works under the guidance of that Ministry. No member of the SAA Board is above the Minister of Finance or can operate outside of the mandate and direction provided by the Minister of Finance and the National Treasury. RUMOUR: THE PRESIDENT AND THE SAA BOARD CHAIR HAVE A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP AND HAVE A SON TOGETHER Ms Myeni is the chairperson of the Jacob Zuma Foundation. Her relationship with the President is purely professional, and is based on the running of the Foundation. Rumours about a romance and a child are baseless and are designed to cast aspersions on the President. Issued by: The Presidency, Pretoria Enquiries: Bongani Majola on 082 339 1993 or [email protected] www.thepresidency.gov.za -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . 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3 Presidency Corrects Malicious Rumours, Statement.doc
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